


Sketches

by kit_erinsen



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology, Mythology - Freeform - Fandom
Genre: Gen, OOC musings, assorted pantheons, mild swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-27 00:23:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18293123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kit_erinsen/pseuds/kit_erinsen
Summary: A series of written sketches examining the world through the eyes of the gods. Part of a (semi) self-appointed writing exercise. Characters will update as more sketches are added, rating may change.





	Sketches

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the “Start with This” podcast, from the fantastic creators of Night Vale. The assignment for the first episode is to spend an hour focusing on an idea, concept, whathaveyou, and writing. For just an hour. Exactly one hour. And then you put the thing out into the world. This is my way of shouting it at a bird.

Changelings. The word itself is enough to conjure a visual of the strange, the unnatural, the unknown. An explanation of why something—someone—doesn’t fit the expectations of those around them. Why they aren’t _normal_. 

The thing people don’t like to admit is that they’re afraid of what’s different. If something—someone—doesn’t fit their expectations/desires/societal norms, then that makes them _other_ and being _other_ isn’t good. People fear what they don’t understand and they’ve certainly never understood me. 

You might expect that the fear of the other would only pertain to mortals, that surely the gods wouldn’t be so petty as to prejudice themselves again something different.

Clearly you’ve never spent much time with any gods.

Certainly the rabble-rousing bush I hang around with have very definite ideas of how things should go. It’s all warrior-maiden this or preventing Ragnarok that and eternal mead halls under the supervision of Odin and his daughters. Let me tell you something; Valhalla isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Ever sit in a room full of warriors who are all dead certain (see what I did there?) that they’re the best? Unending feasts and mead means unending bragging and fights breaking out every third day. 

Honestly, the thing you mortals seem to forget is that you lot were created in our image. Or that you created us in your image. It’s hard to keep track sometimes. Either way, we have the same faults you do, just magnified a bit. But we were talking about changelings. Even gods can be changelings and gods can be prejudiced and that’s why I’m currently chained to this rock with snake venom dripping on my face for eternity. Because I’m different.

Or maybe not because I’m different. I’ll admit, that thing with Baldr was a bit much, but you try living under the pressure of knowing that ultimately you help set off Ragnarok. What’s that? Healthier outlets? Self-fulfilling prophecies? No, see if you want to talk about self-fulfilling prophecies, go talk to the Greeks. They really need help in that department.

Changelings. In at least one version of my tale I was a foundling Odin decided to pass off as his own. Yes, I’ve seen those. Sigyn brings a tablet with her so I can keep up with current events. It does get dull after a while, being tormented with dripping venom. At any rate, the fear of the _other_ in that version is so prevalent that people get locked away for it, rejected by those who should love them. There’s a lesson in there somewhere that’s relevant for some of the nonsense going on in your society, all that bullshit about sexual orientation and gender expression. What, you can’t honestly be surprised that I’m not against self-expression in whatever form it takes. Darlings, have you completely missed the stories where I regularly turn into a woman? I bore children for crying out loud! It’s positively criminal what families do to their children in the name of love.

But I digress...again. 

Changelings, in the traditional sense of the word, are children who were taken by the Fae and replaced with another fae. Accounts differ on this point; no one can decide if lesser fae were left, or sickly fae children who would never survive in either the human or fae world. Changelings were supposedly easy to spot; they didn’t act like _normal_ children. I have to wonder sometimes, how much of that behavioral change was due to failure to thrive or neglect on the part of the parents...We may never know.

Something you definitely don’t know is that there are changelings in the world, in the traditional sense of the world. They know that there’s something different about themselves. They perceive the world in different ways. They go against the “normal” standards for humans. These are people you should celebrate, rather than castigate. They were placed in this realm to help you sad lot move forward. You might have noticed that you have an unerring tendency to revert back a few decades or centuries every now and then. Never could figure out why and now you’re on the cusp of doing it again. It’s like you’ve got a pathological block against scientific advancement.

Changelings are what keep you progressing. Because they see the world differently, they make it possible for the rest of you to expand your horizons and see the world differently as well. When you’re receptive to it, of course. They’re the artists, musicians, scientists, writers who make you stop and think. They perceive connections no one else does. They are the creators and innovators.

For all that the gods don’t get along as well as you might think, none of us have ever been able to understand why you don’t value your changelings. Ah, I see you remember the earlier parts of our conversation. We gods depend on you lot to change. We’re inextricably caught up in your squabbles. We mirror each other, we gods and you mortals. You need your changelings to advance and we need ours to keep from repeating old patterns. Stagnation is not good for the immortal and changelings—tricksters—like myself are good at forestalling stagnation.

Forever is a very long time, after all.


End file.
